It took five decades of intense negotiations on the issues to be addressed and the decision-making format before the agreement to convene the meeting was reached. Sacred and Great CouncilThe leaders of all the autocephalous (recognized as autonomous) Orthodox Churches finally agreed to convene the meeting in Switzerland in the last days of January.
In the event that the meeting is held - there are still disagreements that could change the plans or cause not all those summoned to attend - the pan-Orthodox council will be a great historical event, perhaps not so much for its eventual contents, but for the mere fact of having been held. The official convener of the meeting is Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who has been a tireless promoter of the council. The aim is for the Orthodox Churches to return to functioning not as a mere confederation of independent Churches, but as a single ecclesial body, able to speak with one voice. This would facilitate both their Christian witness in the world and the possibilities of ecumenical dialogue, also with the Catholic Church. "The advent of the Sacred and Great Council will serve as a testimony to the unity of the Orthodox Church."Bartholomew said during the meeting of Orthodox Primates in Geneva (Switzerland) in January. "It is not a single event, but must be understood as an overall process that unfolds.".
Among the 14 autocephalous Churches summoned to the Council are the historic Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem; the Modern Patriarchates of Moscow, Belgrade, Romania, Bulgaria and Georgia; and the Archiepiscopal Churches of Cyprus, Greece, Albania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The delegations of these Churches may include representatives of other Orthodox Churches dependent on them, as well as non-Orthodox observers, who may attend only the opening and closing sessions.
The days close to the feast of Pentecost have been chosen for its celebration, which, according to the Eastern calendar, this year will be Sunday, June 19. The meeting will take place in Crete. The venue will be the Orthodox Academy, located 24 kilometers from the coastal city of Chania. It was originally planned to be held in the church of St. Irene in Istanbul, but due to the high diplomatic tensions between Turkey and Russia, the Moscow Patriarchate requested a change of venue.
Agenda
The meeting of the Primates in Geneva (which took place at the Orthodox Center in Chambésy), in addition to setting the dates and location, officially approved the topics to be discussed and the rules of procedure for the 12-day council.
The representatives of the Orthodox Churches have been trying since the 1960s to elaborate a series of basic documents on ten topics that should be worked out at the council. On some of them, mostly related to the internal hierarchy of the Orthodox Church, there is still no agreement.
Of these ten topics, the Primates approved six to be discussed at the Council: the mission of the Orthodox Church in the contemporary world, the Orthodox Diaspora, autonomy and the manner of its proclamation, the sacrament of marriage and the difficulties it encounters, the meaning of fasting and its observance today, and the relations of the Orthodox Churches with the rest of the Christian world. On the other hand, they did not agree to address the issue of establishing a common calendar for Easter.
"Some issues have been removed from the agenda, not because they have been solved, but because it was not possible to reach a solution."Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Relations, told a press conference. Metropolitan Hilarion stressed that the council should show unity and not air conflicts. He also expressed his satisfaction that the Primates, at the insistence of the Russian Primate, agreed to require unanimous agreement in the council for the approval of any decision.
Risks
The requirement of unanimity, which assumes that each Church has the power of veto, may complicate the conduct of the council. However, in the opinion of the Moscow Patriarchate, the council would lose its pan-Orthodox authority if not all the Churches convened did not participate in the decisions. "If any of the Churches, for whatever reason, were unable or unwilling to participate, then it would no longer be a pan-Orthodox council. At most it would be an inter-Orthodox synod."said Hilarion.
One of the main conflicts within Orthodoxy is the rivalry between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The former is the largest of the Orthodox Churches with more than one hundred million faithful. The latter, on the other hand, although it currently has far fewer faithful, enjoys a primacy of honor over the entire Orthodox world. Moreover, while the Patriarchate of Constantinople has always promoted the idea of the council, the Patriarchate of Moscow has generally tried to complicate its organization or to play down its importance.
There are also other relevant differences. The Patriarchate of Antioch, for example, is at odds with the Patriarchate of Jerusalem over the appointment of a metropolitan in Qatar. As a result, it has threatened not to participate in the June council if such a disagreement is not resolved first.
Hopes
Bartholomew has repeatedly said that further delay of the council would compromise the image of the Orthodox Church in the world and among its own faithful. At the same time, he suggests that coming together in a council is the best way to move forward in unity. "The only way to avoid the temptations of confessional isolation is through dialogue."said the Ecumenical Patriarch in January. In an address to the bishops of his jurisdiction several months before the Geneva meeting, he explained his thinking in more detail: "To those who say, with good will, that the council needs more preparation and that it should include in its agenda more The answer is that the convocation of the council itself is even more important, as a beginning for other councils, which in turn will resolve the pressing issues of the day.n more burning issues".
One issue that everyone seems to agree on is that the expected Sacred and Great Council of the Orthodox should not be called "ecumenical". For some, like the Patriarch of Constantinople, because the Churches of the West, which did participate in the ancient councils prior to the "great schism" of 1054, will not participate; for others, like the Patriarchate of Moscow, because only after it is held, if in fact there is universal acceptance of its teachings, could a council be recognized as ecumenical.
In any case, as the Orthodox theologian John Chryssavgis, archdeacon and advisor to Patriarch Bartholomew, recently wrote in the American magazine First Things: "Certainly something is stirring within the Orthodox Church. And the rumor will become louder and clearer in the weeks and months to come.". Despite the uncertainties, Chryssavgis himself looks forward to possible historical outcomes, with the help of the Holy Spirit, both for the life of the Orthodox themselves and for their relations with other Christians. Indeed, he sees in the current tensions between groups and individuals within the Orthodox world echoes of the struggles that occurred in the councils of the first millennium. "History is seldom made by people of weak character, and ecclesiastical history is no exception."he assures.
Vilnius
